Details Contracts Details!

I hate the fact that details are often so sketchy and unrealiable when it comes to finding out which riders is going where in the contract season. The AMA needs to start making this stuff public like every other sport on the planet.

So far here is what we all know:

Tim Ferry: Word is Team Kawasaki has signed "Red Dog" for the SX and MX season next year. The length and terms were not released as usual, but it's expected to be a done deal.

Broc Hepler: Team Yamaha needed to make a move with Chad Reed saying he won't race the MX season in 2007 and even hinting as retirement. So they went after the 20-year old Hepler to be their top guy next year. It's expected that Helper will jump to the 450cc class perhaps as soon as the SX season but that is not confirmed.

Michael Byrne: No confirmation, but it is rumored that "Burner" will be offered a deal with several teams and may have his choice. Team Bookoo was rumored to be interested in the Aussie for their team, as well as Sobe Honda. We will have to wait and see where Byrne lands.

USA RULES!

Once again the good US of A proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that when it comes to racing in dirt we are the best. While no one from Motodirt was able to be there in person, we did get first hand information from our part-time corrospondent Ms Yvonne who lives for men who drive things fast.

Ms Yavonne was quick to point out that much like the AMA Nationals this summer, the most exciting rider on the track was young Ryan Villopoto. While Bubba Stewart played it smart to make certain the USA would not throw it away with top gun Ricky Carmichael unable to suit up to race, Villopoto was as usual letting it all hang outm Much to the delight of the Euro-Crowd. Villopoto was the only 250f class rider who got a real sniff of the top competition, and he did it in true RV style.

James Stewart played it smart by not pushing his luck. The track was rough and not a lot of time could be made up quickly because of the fast open nature. So Bubba was conservative in falling in behind the great Stefan Everts for most of the racing.

Villopoto's 3rd overall in the mixed moto-1 was enough to make the difference in the overall team standings. Young Ryan baffled the top Euro 450cc riders who could not deal with the agressive American speedster. Even with nearly twice the engine the 450cc riders could not catch Villopoto's screaming 250cc Pro Circuit Kawasaki. You have to give full props to Mitch Payton and the boys for keeping that thing running like it was, and of course full props to Villopoto for squeezing every inch of speed out of that machine.

Late addition Ivan Tedesco rode admirably on his Makita Suzuki while filling in for the injured Carmichael. Team USA took a gamble running Tedesco, who has missed most of the season due to injury and had not really been riding much. Many people felt that Team USA would have been better served to send Honda pilot Kevin Windham who ended the season as one of the hottest riders. Or even Honda's Davi Millsaps who managed a 3rd overall in the points as an 18-year old rookie. But Tedesco gave it all he had and managed to stay inside the top 10 to give Team USA much needed points. Give "Hot Sauce" credit for a gritty performace, true American style.

Another Season in the Sun!

Three cheers to another great season in the Sun. The 2006 AMA National Motocross series wrapped up another great year with the exciting return to SoCal. There were a few surprises and in some ways there was no surprise.

Ricky Carmichael and his big #4 Suzuki once again proved without a doubt that he is still the best right now, and in fact is the greatest all time off-road racer in the history of dirt and rubber. RC was virtually untouchable again although not perfect, after all he was already perfect twice before so it was possible. And while RC claims this was his swan song, the soon to be 27 year old might still have another season in him.

While the G.O.A.T was out in front, several interesting things were going on behind him. James "Bubba" Stewart proved he is just as fast as Ricky, but perhaps not able to sustain that pace for a full season. Bubba did a lot of crashing this year, and his body has taken some wicked hits. The men in the big green rig pulled the reigns in a little on the still only 20 year old star and got him thinking about the bigger picture. Bubba ended the season finishing behind RC but he played it smart.

While most would agree Bubba will be the man to beat when RC does hang up his boots, there is another ace in the hole that has closed that gap considerably and that is Honda pilot Davi Millsaps. As as 18 year old, Millsaps rode the big 450 machine to what was without a doubt the most successful rookie season in modern times. Most 18 year olds have a hard enough time trying to compete in the Lites class, but his size and maturity made Millsaps a perfect candidate to make the leap to the big class a little eary. And it looks as though Team Honda made the right choice. Millsaps ended the season with a 2nd overall and 400 total points, good enough for 3rd place overall in the series. If not for the very strong finish of Kevin Windham, Millsaps would have finished 2nd.

Kevin Windham should be noted for his super strong finish to the season. After missing the first few rounds due to injury, K-Dub rode strong and very fast to claim yet another 2nd overall in the series behind RC. Windham has spent his entire career in the shadow of RC, and has without a doubt proved he is probably the second best MX racer of all time. Because had it not been for a guy named Carmichael the name Windham would be at the top most often over the past decade. But Windham makes no bones about it, he races and he loves it and he will continue to do it as long as it's fun, which is great news for the sport. K-Dub is a great ambassador for Motocross and Supercross alike and the fans are happy to have him around for as long as he'll stay. And who knowns, that 450cc championship is still within reasonable grasp of this ultra talented rider.

While the big boys chased Ricky, the guys in the Lites class all chased a 17 year old rookie by the name of Ryan Villopoto. Of course the KTM team will never make the mistake of being too confident again, but can the same be said for their rider Mike Alessi? Alessi once again found himself the butt end of many jokes for several things, not the least of which was his failure to believe that Villopoto could beat him straight up for an entire season. Perhaps since it was Alessi who did most of the winning as an amateur he assumed it would continue. Well he was dead wrong. And several other riders in the class regularly put Alessi behind them as the season wore on. But none did it more than Villopoto who has already drawn too many comparisons to Carmichael. But one thing that is similar is RV has the talent and the drive that makes a champion. And the fact that he now owns a #1 plate proves it.

Broc Hepler finished the season strong, and got people thinking it might have been a title chase between Villopoto and Hepler had he been healthy all season. Broc missed most of the year on the IR list but made steady progress until he was winning Nationals towards the end. He moves to Team Yamaha next year and maybe up to the big 450 class.

Now that the MXdn is coming up with Stewart and Villopoto slated to join Carmichael on Team USA, we look towards the upcoming Supercross season. If it is anything close to last year we are in for a treat.

20 Minute Motos?

There are several problems with the current AMA Motocross format that does not lend well to full television coverage. The first and biggest issues are the two marathon-like motos that can stretch to 35-minutes each on the larger tracks.

Now I am a traditionalist, and I hate change especially for the sake of making anything I love appeal to the masses. But I have to admit it is time for the AMA to make a change, and in this case it will be a change that will help the sport grow.

On television, it would take a four hour-plus telecast to show the AMA Motocross in its entirety, the proper way. That is an unrealistic expectation for the networks to deal with. Motocross is not big enough to garner that type of commitment from any network and it may never be.

What we are suggesting is to cut the motos down from 30-minutes to 20-minutes. Now before the traditionalist scream hear us out.

I see it at every race. 20 minutes into the moto and people are starting to lose interest in the race and start focusing on other things. The riders themselves ride into a groove for the last half of the 1st moto knowing the 2nd moto is the most important. And in the big picture they rarely ever have the energy to make a serious push last in the 2nd motos. No one wants to throw away a season late in a moto trying to make points as tired as they are. There is too much at stake now for the top 10 guys to take those chances.

This move would have a two pronged effect that will only help motocross. As it is now, these riders are stronger, faster and smarter. The bikes are light-years better than they were just ten years ago. Call it the RC effect, but the truth is that these guys just don't crash as often as they used to, and these races are won and lost within the first 15 minutes almost without exception. We almost never see a battle go the entire 35 minutes in either class.

What we end up with is a great first ten minutes that slowly settles into a pace. But MX is not supposed to be a marathon, it's supposed to be a sprint. If the motos were cut to 20-minutes the guys would be that much stronger at the end, and the pace would be that much more frantic for the full 20-minutes. Guys might even push harder knowing they will not have to settle into an energy conserving pace.

I have mentioned this idea to several riders and almost all of them thought it might be something to look at. A couple even suggested 25 minutes, plus-1, or 20-minutes plus-3. All interesting options. It would take little away from the conditioning effect, guys would still have to be in top physical condition. But what it would do is ease up the mental issue slightly. It is easier to stay mentally focused for 25-minutes than it is for 35-minutes.

What this would to for television is obvious. It would cut down the overall running time to 80-minutes of racing, which would make a 2-hour taped show a possibility in the future. And a potential 3-hour full live show. It would also make the in person event that much more exciting. As it is now people are looking for the exits with about 15 minutes gone in moto #2, you don't want that. You want people to see the finish, you want them to stay for the celebration.

This change would not effect the integrity of the sport, and it would not diminish the effect of the hard work needed to win. As it is the guys who are out of shape don't last more than a few laps anyway. It's not like they are hanging on for 20-minutes then fading the final 10. The fact is the "softies" are being dropped within the first ten minutes by the top guys. The pace it just too great in modern MX racing to "get by" like you could twenty years ago.

If anything the overall effect would tighten up the pack all the way through. The guy running 10th would be that much closer to the front and the back. It would keep the racing fresh all the way through the pack and make for great racing. It would also cut down on lappers, as the top guys would not have that extra ten minutes to catch the guys in the back. Again, call it the Carmichael affect. Many of the greatest athletes have forced change in their sport through domination, and maybe this is no different.

But the truth is it's more than just Carmichael, this has been an issue since MX started being televised. The AMA has talked about all kinds of ideas like switching to one 45-minute moto and such. But that would be the absolute wrong thing to do, that would create more of what we are already seeing in every bad way. Two 20-minutes, plus-3 laps might be the perfect way to push this sport into the future.